Dear Editor,
Permit me to address Prime Minister Luc Mercelina, with the hope that he would give some thought to my suggestions and inquiries, but more importantly, that he tries his utmost to push this country forward. The stagnation is causing frustration and the population deserves an explanation.
Prime Minister, on every street corner, the conversation involves the lack of action from this government. People are frustrated and quite disappointed, because this is not what the population had predicted. The people had expected to see a more robust economy and a more harmonious Council of Ministers. Instead, we are witnessing the same selfish and disorganized team, as the previous administration.
In light of this view, it’s not every contract that was made with the public can be achieved within the time frame that was specified. Sometimes a minister can go off-track because of minor obstacles that delay several important processes. Instead of waiting forever for these changes to occur, the appropriate action is to inform the public of the challenges that you are faced with. Sometimes I wonder if we still have a prime minister.
Case in point: It has been 3 years since the hack took place at the utility company, and to this day, we are still experiencing power outages, although it is not as frequent, and the time span is a lot less. The population is extremely frustrated because the matter seemed to be a never-ending story. Prime Minister, I don’t feel that the people should be punished any longer for something that we are not responsible for. There must be a resolution to this ongoing confusion.
Prime Minister, do you know what is missing from this manufactured catastrophe? Not enough time or interest was dedicated to pursue the culprits who executed this hack. Yes, it was crucial to get the company up and running as soon as possible, but a vigorous pursuit into who instigated and committed this heinous act, should have taken place simultaneously.
Up to today, this exploitation of the population is not being pursued, Prime Minister. Why is that? To me, here is where the key lies to unravel the mystery of this criminal act, in order to ease the burden and confusion of these excessive and incorrect bills. If this matter is left alone, what guarantee is there that this action will not reoccur and in a more detrimental manner than before?
I frankly believe that this should be tackled post-haste, with the goal to contract an independent firm from abroad – one that has no affiliation with anyone on the island – a company that will reveal the truth and bring the culprits to justice. With regard to the recovery funds that were allocated for The World Bank to manage, why is it that the critical infrastructures are the last to be attended to? And why does it seem like it is The World Bank that tells the government what projects to work on and not the other way around?
After Hurricane Irma, my understanding was that The World Bank’s position would be to ensure that the funds are allocated to the various projects, according to the needs of St. Maarten; not for them to dictate this stringent criteria that has changed the entire concept of their purpose for being contracted to execute the task. Besides, their contract was 5 years, with a possibility to extend it for another 2 years. Eight (8) years have passed and to this day, I cannot point to anything that would justify the millions that were spent already.
The only good thing about this group is that they offer very good training, so I was told. Prime Minister Luc Mercelina, I’m still puzzled. How is it that critical infrastructures like the library and schools were left until the very end of their tenure to come on stream?
Was this a tactic for them to remain longer than the initial contract or was it the idea of the previous government to prolong this process? Prime Minister, I know that you have been in government for a little over a year. How do you know exactly what The World Bank is doing? Do they report to the government or directly to Holland?
The high and incorrect utility bills and not feeling the effect of The World Bank are two major issues that have the population very disgruntled. Prime Minister, if you can address the public more often and in a very simple manner, we would have a better understanding of the situation, instead of depending on speculation or a misconception.
Joslyn Morton
